Converge & Revitalize: Merging Ashiatsu with FasciAshi techniques for Barefoot Massage Therapists

The past 4 weeks have been jam-packed since announcing the Center for Barefoot Massage and FasciAshi! My business partners, Mary-Claire and Paul, and I… as well as other expert Ashiatsu therapists and future FasciAshi instructors… have been hard at work creating the structure, content and future of this company. I LOVE what is evolving and couldn’t be more excited!

I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for everything and everyone that has brought me to this point: and I’m forever grateful to those many people… including my past students! Part the reasoning behind the creation of this new movement in training is that I understand the niche feild of barefoot massage very well and recognize that there is a strong need for more challenging tissue-issues to be addressed within Ashiatsu sessions. I know that you all know there is more to barefoot massage than just a relaxation massage. (Although that is VERY powerful, needed and important in itself!)
If you are a massage therapist who has trained with me at my Texas Ashiatsu training center, or any of my classes across the nation (even that one time in Germany!) or if you are an LMT who already has formal Ashiatsu training,  the Center for Barefoot Massage wants you and your Ashiatsu skill level to continue to grow.

How can existing Ashiatsu therapists learn FasciAshi from the Center of Barefoot Massage?

Converge

[kuh n-vurj]

verb (used without object), converged, converging.

1. to tend to meet in a point or line; incline toward each other, as lines that are not parallel.

2. to tend to a common result, conclusion, etc.

Synonyms

Approach, focus, come together. Mingle, merge, combine.

Option #1: take the Converge class.  It’s a 1 day “down and dirty” quick class to teach you as many FasciAshi tricks as we can from the Fundamentals class to blend into whatever you already know. (Proof of attendance in another ashiatsu workshop is required first.) This is a fast-paced class to squeeze everything into your busy schedule! You’ll just get to give and receive everything real quick once from another student. Due to time constraints there will not be a chance to work on an instructor or a client, and no chance to completely clean up your bodymechanics, but at least you can plug in the new material to your sessions as soon as you get back to your own bars at work! You’ll get 8 CE’s and it’s $224. (We’ll also be offering this for the Intermediate Supine/Sidebody, as well as ROM classes – so watch for Converge classes on each topic.)

Revitalize

[ree-vahyt-l-ahyz]

verb (used with object), re·vi·tal·ized, re·vi·tal·iz·ing.

1. to give new life to.

2. to give new vitality or vigor to.

Synonyms

Restore, replenish, revive. Refresh, rejuvinate, resuscitate.

Option #2:  Revitalize your ashiatsu practice 1 day at a time in an existing FasciAshi class. Participate in any class on our schedule equivalent to one you have taken elsewhere (proof of prior ashiatsu training attendance is required first.) Availability of this option may be limited, as it is dependant on how many full-priced attendees are already enrolled in any given class. You’ll be paired with another Revitalizing bodywork buddy so that you two can follow along, picking up what we throw down, having fun on the bars observing and participaing in every stroke while it’s being taught at the normal classroom pace. If time allows, the instructor will be able to come over to your table and give you some indivualized attention, but please keep in mind that the instructor has to focus on the new, full-price-paying students who are in class for the 1st time.

A heads up about the daily format for our Fundamentals class: Day 1 is lower body posterior AND anterior…. day 2 is upperbody posterior and anterior, and day 3 is massaging big guys all day long! It’s not like you are attending the same class you last took with me all over again, where we did the same work everyday for 3 days in a row. The Intermediate Supine/Sidebody class is now 1.5-2 days long, 12 hours, and the ROM class is not your average table-thai meets barefoot massage course. We’ve got new material and a new format! So just coming for a 1 day Revitalize class will only get you a chunk of the information from each class, but it will give you much more insight and practice on that chunk compared to our quickie Converge class listed above. 

Option #3: take the whole course, you’ll love it! You’ll be surrounded by LMT’s new to barefoot massage, you’ll get to get back to your roots, ground yourself in cultivated content, and learn the new techniques with a beginners mind. In our full-length FasciAshi courses, you’ll have the opportunity to give and receive daily with a massage partner, massage the instructor, feel every stroke from the instructor AND massage 2 clients on the last day of class… so you can expect lots of practice, a focus on details within the strokes, a complete recheck on your body mechanics, plus you will really experience and learn how to implement the theories of trigger point, myofascial release and direction of pressure applied within your barefoot massage. You will be eligible for FasciAshi certification once that’s ready, and will have a lifetime access to our Alumni Membership support website to further saturate your knowledge.

Our entire roster of classes are available to you – whether you are new to Ashiatsu or not.

We’re bringing new classes (and even more that we haven’t announced yet) with solid content in each detailed massage stroke, so that you can retire your hands if you want, and your massage practice can be super-specialized in barefoot massage therapy.
FasciAshi Fundamentals: Beginner level training. 3 transformational days, $670, and 24 NCBTMB Ce’s.

FasciAshi Intermediate: Supine/Sidebody: Intermediate level trianing: 12 CE’s, $335

FasciAshi ROM: 2 days (with a 1/2 extra day coming soon!) 16 CE’s  $447

Advanced FasciAshi: COMING SOON!

Coming later this year: classes catering to your specialization: Relaxation / Sports / Clinical

Anyways, as a super uber-fan of Ashiatsu myself, I’m WAY excited… And if you are even a smidge as addicted to this work a I am, I hope to see you and your feet in one of our FasciAshi classes across the nation. If you don’t see the Converge and Revitalize classes on our schedules yet, don’t worry, we’re working on adding them in. Keep checking www.BarefootMassageCenter.com. You are gonna love this next level of Barefoot Massage.

-Jeni

Sole intent, with deep intensity

…taking the next step in Ashiatsu training

I am excited to share with you that I am expanding the content presented in my Ashiatsu courses, and will be offering a new line of barefoot massage classes this year.

 I can’t wait to get you ankle deep into more ashiatsu training…

After 14 years practicing and 8 years teaching Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy, after teaching over 800 massage therapists the art of ashiatsu in the 100 scheduled classes that I’ve offered over the years, after being such a vocal advocate, a dedicated instructor, and loyal representative of the technique, I decided to leave Ruthie and the DeepFeet company on February 15th, 2017.

For quite a while I have felt that I have more to offer the future of barefoot massage therapy, and I believe that this transformational work needs to grow, and it needs to offer more opportunities for experienced ashiatsu therapists in the field who are hungry to do more with their feet. My departure from DeepFeet allows me provide the content that my base of students have continually been asking me for within their strokes.

It’s not just me. I am part of a collective movement to take ashiatsu to the next level. We are calling the new technique “FasciAshi”, a name reflecting ashiatsu’s strong impact on the fascia, and the anatomy focus I’ve always put into all of my classes. You’ll learn trigger point, myofascial release, passive and resisted range of motion techniques in our classes now. You’ll learn how to manipulate tissue with your feet just as intuitively and creatively as you do with your hands.   We have new strokes that work right on Psoas and Iliacus. Expect to see new sports massage courses and clinical techniques to help your footwork get more specific for injury treatment and rehabilitation to help you grow and specialize in Barefoot Massage. We will have an interactive post-class support website for our alumni, as well as bigger ventures across the nation that are on the horizon. The work we teach has been tried and tested on a variety of clients from a variety of massage therapists over the past 14 years – each stroke tested for safety, body mechanics, and efficiency – it’s not just cool looking strokes or a remixed routine, it’s amazing work that you and your clients will really benefit from.

You’ll learn how to manipulate tissue with your feet just as intuitively and creatively as you do with your hands.

Because of this change, any classes I teach will no longer be offered under the Deepfeet umbrella, but rather under the Center for Barefoot Massage– a new partnership company comprised of myself and other experienced professionals and colleagues – a team that is growing. If you trust my knowledge, experience and understand my passion for this material and want to learn from the collective expertise that the “FasciAshi” instructor team has to offer, you are welcome to take the next step in your ashiatsu career and attend our upcoming classes across the nation – not just in Texas!

Please let me know if you have any questions, if you’d like a taste of this new style, don’t miss my 8 hour class at the Texas AMTA convention in Waco on March 31st, and visit me to see it in action in the booth at the vendor hall. My schedule is posted through July, so visit my TexasAshiatsu page to sign up!

Keep your toes on the pulse and stay tuned to our evolving website, I can’t wait to get you ankle deep into more ashiatsu training from the Center for Barefoot Massage.

-Jeni Spring, LMT, MTI

Heeling Sole studio tour

Here’s what your appointment will be like!

This great video FOOTage will take you on a walkabout inside our clinic to see what happens before and during your session. You’ll see what our styles of barefoot massage look like (and no, barefoot massage is not the same thing as foot massage or reflexology!) and you’ll learn about what we have to offer overall, while getting a tour of Heeling Sole’s lobby, massage rooms, and classroom space.

We are located at 1864 Nacogdoches Road, San Antonio, Texas, 78209 in the Alamo Heights neighborhood of San Antonio, in the Carousel Court shopping center. You’ll need to book an appointment ahead of time, as we rarely have same day walk-in sessions available.

Schedule your Ashiatsu, Ashi-Thai or Fijian Barefoot Massage by calling us at 210.560.1992, or book online!

Not sure what to expect from Heeling Sole?

Your first visit we’ll have you complete a health intake form. Recurring visits entail a breif check up for paperwork and progress sake. After a thorough health intake with your massage therapist, we will be able to best suit the needs of your session for the day. Knowing a history of your aches, pains, diagnosed conditions, past surgeries, trauma, medications, etc. gives us a safe point of reference to start from. Please read this page on our website regarding if Barefoot Massage is right for you at this time. You must be at least 18 years of age, and weigh over 130 pounds. Texas state massage law dictates that minors may receive massage therapy with the guardians consent and they also state that the parent/guardian be in the same room during the session, however, due to the fact that our massage therapists are at times 2-4 feet off the ground working hard to balance and focus, we do not allow a second person in the massage room as it can be a distraction and a safety concern to all parties involved in the massage. We’ll leave the massage room to give you time to undress and settle in beneath the sheets on our deluxe w-i-d-e, padded and warm massage table. If you are receiving an Ashiatsu massage, it is imperative that you undress completely. Yes, I said it, there’s not much “undressing to your comfort level” here at Heeling Sole. We need to work directly with the tissue in your booty, legs and your feet, so please, remove your undies and socks as well as all the usual clothing, and we PROMISE that we will keep you covered where it counts with a sheet. Professional draping is required by the state of Texas except with written permission – and we at Heeling Sole never work without draping, even if you want us to. This is a professional massage therapy session, and exposed nudity is NOT our thing. We haven’t ever, and don’t need to see that side of you! Underwear is almost an insult to us. For some reason we have no issues pushing through your lovely skin to engage the muscles, but we do get weirded out when our toes get tangled in underwear or when we simply have to step on your skivvies. It becomes a safety issue, and honestly does remove some beneficial work from the massage if we have to skip an area or work through fabric, rather than glide and slide through the skin. HOWEVER if you are receiving just an Ashi-Thai stretching session, not blended with Ashiatsu, please wear flexible clothing – like what you would wear to work out in. We don’t mind stepping on normal clothes 😉 While you undress, we’ll clean, sanitize and warm our feet, and start the session as soon as we return to the room. You are in control of your massage, and we need you to give instant feedback on the pressure level – we are looking for  no deeper than the “hurts so good level”, and your comfort is always most important to us. We want almost a play-by-play from the horses mouth as we get to know your muscles and your bodies response to our work. Let us know if it needs to be lighter, deeper, a hair to the left, etc, and we’ll adjust right away! Your feedback does NOT hurt our feelings, it’s encouragement for us to give you the best massage possible that day. If it helps you to relax by having a little conversation outside of the feedback aspect of our communication, go ahead and talk about your great second cousins crazy encounter with aliens, or your friends amazing food, but don’t feel obligated – we love to hear your stories, or the sounds of your snooze. On the flipside, if your body and mind needs silence, we are ninja’s, and we don’t mind working in stealth mode. (Just don’t forget to speak up when pressure needs adjustments!) Your job during the massage is to focus on your breathing, be heavy, and physically melt into the table. If we try to move your limbs, don’t help. It’s actually better if you are dead weight. So think ~heavy~, be a bag of bones on our table, and we’ll position, stretch or place your limbs exactly where is best for the moment, or if we need you to help, we’ll definitely let you know! Sessions will incorporate as much “massage time” as possible, however, your session may require 5 minutes of pre-session interviewing, post-session follow-up and/or self-care suggestions to better enhance your massage experience. We’ll take the massage right up to the last minute possible, and will let you know when the session is over, so don’t worry about the time. You can choose to end the massage at anytime during the session if it’s not your thing – but we bet you’ll be more likely to want to extend the length of this massage!

Learning Ashiatsu: Frequently Asked Questions #3

What is the class cancellation policy?

By signing up for one of my classes, your deposit serves as a commitment to train, that you agree to the Code of Ethics (see below) and the Cancellation Policy.

Non-Refundable deposits are required to hold your space in class. Your deposit will not be refunded should you cancel out of your selected workshop dates. Your deposit cannot be transferred to another massage therapist, or applied to another Ashiatsu instructors class. Only in the event of proper documentation of injury, pregnancy, death in the immediate family, or extreme weather prohibiting travel (airports and highways closed) will your deposit be allowed to be rolled over to a workshop at a later date. This special consideration will be allowed one time only by the discretion of the Ashiatsu instructor.

If you have other circumstances besides those listed above and still need to cancel out of your upcoming Ashiatsu class, you may roll your tuition over to the next Ashiatsu course offered at a later date by Jeni Spring, by giving at least 15 days’ notice and paying a $75 fee per class that you wish to roll over. Any notice less than 15 days is not eligible for rollover – unless the situation can be documented as mentioned above (injury, death in the immediate family, or weather prohibiting travel.)

There are absolutely no refunds for courses attended.

What if the class doesn’t meet its minimum enrollment requirements?

Luckily due to the popularity of our classes, we haven’t had to cancel or reschedule a class due to low enrollement in years! Typically it’s the opposite, we sell out months in advance – so early registration is always highly recommended.

Heeling Sole / Jeni Spring will happily refund all money for any cancelled seminars due to our responsibility – such as if the class minimum enrollment requirements are not met.

We reserve the right to cancel class 2 weeks prior to the event should there not be enough interest and minimums not met – for Barefoot Basics, Anterior/Sidelying & Ashi-Thai classes in San Antonio, Class minimum is 4 students. For Advanced Ashiatsu in San Antonio, or for any class held outside of San Antonio, class minimum is 6 students.

If registration is low enough for the instructor to choose to cancel class, you will be notified by phone 2 weeks prior to the scheduled dates. At such time, students can choose:
A) If they would like a 100% refund.
B) Roll your deposit over to the next listed class with no penalty

We do not recommend that you book airfare until you have confirmed with the instructor that your selected class has met the minimum enrollment requirements and will not be cancelled.

Can I leave class early, or arrive late?

This is a question that is unfair to the other students in class. Our Ashiatsu workshops are teamwork based, and being that we have SO MUCH ‘feet on’ practice time each day, if you aren’t there, then your partner is left stranded. We also have so much information jam-packed into class that e-v-e-r-y moment matters. There is no fluff or filler material in Ashiatsu training, we need to start promptly ontime and we typically go right up to the last minute of class each day, because our instructors are trying their best to make you the best barefoot massage therapist you can be!

As such, we do not allow partial credit hours, and cannot allow you to leave the class early. If you have to leave due to an emergency, we will withold your CE’s and eligibility to become certified until you re-attend the course to make up the missing time.

Also, if you are chronically late to class first thing in the morning, after breaks and lunches, we may reduce the number of CE hours awarded, due to lack of full attendance.

Please be respectful of our time as we work hard to teach you Ashiatsu!

Ready to get steppin?

Click here to sign up now and learn Ashiatsu with Jeni Spring and Jessica Jenkins in Texas!

CLICK HERE to read more answers to the most frequently asked Ashi questions!

Learning Ashiatsu: Frequently Asked Questions #2

Do I have to be a Massage Therapist?

Yes!

You must be a Massage Therapist to legally and ethically apply these advanced massage therapy Ashiatsu techniques to the public as service.
A license to touch and a license work in your region within the massage therapy field is essential to keeping this modality within its profession, scope of practice and intended market. If you are still in massage school, we require that you have completed 75% of your required hours with a passing grade of a B average, currently have some form of massage student insurance (available through all the major massage insurance agencies/associations) and we will need a copy of your transcript. Jeni first learned Ashiatsu 2 days after completing her 1100 hour Massage Therapy school, and hadn’t yet taken her state or national test – but her passing grades, transcript from the school and her AMTA massage student insurance plan gave her the go-ahead to start her massage career out on the right foot!  If you are in a state without licensure requirement, we will need a transcript from a 200 hour massage therapy program showing your passing grades, and proof of liability insurance.

Will I receive Continiuing Education Credits for attending Ashiatsu Training?

If you are already licensed/registered/certified in your state, then the continuing education credits we offer are eligible for your license, association and board renewals. If you attend class prior to obtaining a state license, then the credits are still awarded but may not be honored by your state, being that the Ashiatsu course occured prior to your licensure. (Check with your state massage board to be sure!)

The Ashiatsu classes held at Heeling Sole are Nationally Certified through the NCBTMB. We are additionally approved for Arkansas, Florida (CE#50-5584), Mississippi (CE# 450728-08), Louisiana (CE#0074), Texas (#1378), New York (#283551-00) and all states who take automatic reciprocity with the NCBTMB.  (Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia).

What about my Massage Association and National Board Renewals?

All courses offered by Jeni Spring at Heeling Sole meet Association of Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) and the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) eligibility requirements through Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy’s (Health & Bodyworks, AOBT, Ruthie Piper Hardee, Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy) affiliations. Our courses meet the high standards of the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) and we have been an NCBTMB approved provider since 1995.  We adhere to professionally recognized codes of ethics and standards of practice with each of these organizations, as well as with the AFMTE, and we are committed to continuing your professional education and development. Most state massage regulatory agencies recognize the same number of continuing education hours reciprocally. Please contact our office if you have questions regarding whether or not your state has automatic reciprocity with the NCBTMB.

How Many CE’s will I get?

This information is listed on the course description of every Ashiatsu Workshop we offer, but here are the details listed out:

• Barefoot Basics: 25 CE’s
• Anterior/Sidelying: 8 CE’s
• Ashi-Thai: 16 CE’s
• DF2:Advanced Ashiatsu: 25 CE’s

Ready to get steppin?

Click here to sign up now and learn Ashiatsu with Jeni Spring and Jessica Jenkins in Texas!

CLICK HERE to read more answers to the most frequently asked Ashi questions!

Learning Ashiatsu: Frequently Asked Questions #1

“Is there a weight limit for massage therapists to attend Ashiatsu classes?”

That’s actually a common misunderstanding – there is technically no weight limit in our Beginner/Intermediate level Ashiatsu training (Barefoot Basics, Anterior/Sidelying, Ashi-Thai.. there ARE strength and skill requirements and weight restrictions for the DF2: Advanced Ashiatsu class, however.) For safety reasons for your fellow students, your future clients, and our equipment in the classroom, we are cautious and try to bring an awareness of the physicality involved with this work before you arrive for your Ashiatsu workshop.  We will need to know your height and weight once you register, so that we can coordinate the set up of the equipment and clients that you’ll be working with. Also for safety reasons, if you weigh over 200 pounds, you are required to bring your own portable massage table – we can go over that later if necessary.

A higher than average fitness level will diminish any challenges you may experience during the workshop. We ask that you are confident that your upper arm strength can pull your body weight off the client at any moment if needed – in case you lose your balance, or in case your client needs an immediate removal of pressure. You’ll need a healthy mental and physical endurance level to maintain focus and strength in class during our daily 2.5 hour long practice rounds. We ask that you are flexible enough to stand up & down from a 24 inch stool quickly and easily from the floor in one smooth movement. You should also be able to sit on a stool with your knees close together in a cannon ball position. We make Ashiatsu look easy, but once you are standing on the table or sitting on the barstool, it’s much harder than it looks! I have a PDF file online that you can read with more info on this subject – check this link out.

Ashiatsu is meant to be performed on clients who are 50-100 pounds heavier than the massage therapist.

One thing that needs to weigh heavily on your mind: do you have the client base that even needs Ashiatsu? This deeper than deep tissue massage technique is meant to be performed on clients who are 50-100 pounds heavier than you. If you are massaging people who weigh less than you, then you’ll be working too hard against gravity – sometimes even working on someone who is comparable in size/weight to you can be more difficult to massage with your feet if they cannot tolerate deep pressure. I highly recommend that you save your Ashiatsu massages for the larger framed, dense tissued clients who are difficult to work on with your hands. If you don’t have the right client base for this technique, you may want to re-evaluate why you want to learn Ashiatsu, as it’s not meant for every client, it’s not meant for every massage therapist, and if this work is utilized incorrectly, or for evil not for good so to speak, then you can cause repetitive strain issues within yourself, and easily injury your client. Being that our studio, Heeling Sole, provides only barefoot massage ALL THE TIME, all day every day, we have experienced first hand (or… first foot?!) what it feels like in our bodies to do 20 Ashiatsu sessions within a week on small bodies, and what it feels like to do the same amount of sessions on larger bodies. Ashiatsu is a big tool you’ll be using to massage with, so it has to be used on the right job.

Do you have the equipment that will support this work?

You need to have a massage table that will hold your body weight, plus your heaviest client, plus a few hundred extra pounds breathing room within the working weight capacity of that table. We recommend the Earthlite Ellora or the Earthlite Spirit – or something comparable. No aluminum legged portable massage tables. Our classroom is stocked with 32″ & 35″ Earthlite Spirits, and our treatment rooms have the two versions of Earthlite Ellora’s – so you can try the tables out during your Ashiatsu training in Texas. I am an Earthlite massage table retailer, so I can help you pick out new discounted equipment if needed.

Contraindications for therapists:

If you are currently pregnant, trying to get pregnant, have recently had breast/gluteal/calf implants and/or some select surgeries within the last 9 months, we regret that you cannot attend the seminar. Please review these contraindications that I uphold my clients to, and let me know if any apply to you.

Speak with me to clarify your specific situation and see if Ashiatsu training is or isn’t appropriate for you at this time. The deep compression provided by this modality could be dangerous for those still recovering from invasive procedures or ailments, and is not safe for prenatal therapists or their growing babies to receive this style of work.
It is not our intention to discourage or discriminate anyone from taking this class, we must focus on a quality workshop experienced by all and maintain the safety standards of the modality.  However, we do try to portray the amount of fitness that will eliminate some obstacles and make class more enjoyable for all therapists.

Ready to get steppin?

Click here to sign up now and learn Ashiatsu with Jeni Spring and Jessica Jenkins in Texas!

We stomped out 2016!

(We should have also added our coffee intake stats…)

This past year the Heeling Sole Sasquatches really reached for the stars and their Ashiatsu Bars by stepping onto their yoga mats, therapy balls, AND YOU!

We worked our bunions off, and we couldn’t have done it without you underfoot!

Thank you to my entire stellar sasquatch staff at Heeling Sole, (past and present) to all our supporting businesses and fans, and of course to our fabulous clients and fantastic students.

2016 may have been rough in a lot of ways, but we rocked it’s socks off and made it go barefoot!

See y’all next year!

💖 Jeni